Perhaps Another Miracle

Manager Yoo Jung-seok.

In his youth, an injury had forced him to hang up his boots, and from that moment he resolved to become a coach. Once he took the helm, however, he never truly distinguished himself. He had no glittering résumé to speak of. The sum of his career amounted to little more than stints managing middle-school and high-school sides.

Time slipped by with merciless speed. The young man he had once been vanished, replaced by a middle-aged figure whose hair had gone almost entirely white. Naturally, the bold dreams he had chased in his fiery younger days faded into the realm of the impossible.

I was full of fire back then. Winning a national championship… Ha. I should have known how hard that really was. Especially…

The dream of leading a team to a national title.

And the dream of taking charge of the national team itself—that one was pure fantasy.

The dream of becoming manager of the South Korean national team.

Yoo Jung-seok had long since decided those ambitions were unrealistic—nothing more than the wild notions of a young man.

And yet.

A player appeared who gave him hope again.

Jung Hyuk.

A player who had once been utterly mediocre transformed overnight into someone else entirely. With overwhelming ability he became Jeongun High’s ace in a single stroke, seized control of the seniors who had been poisoning the atmosphere, and steadied the entire team.

What an incredible kid.

Jung Hyuk’s presence had been a tremendous source of strength during Yoo Jung-seok’s time at Jeongun High. He restored the manager’s confidence. Suddenly a national championship no longer felt like a distant dream.

And then they actually won it.

That achievement earned him recognition from the Korea Football Association, which offered him the U-20 national team managerial post. It was not a proper appointment—more of a firefighter’s role—but it was still wonderful. He had wept with emotion.

It was the thing he had always dreamed of.

The dream he had believed impossible.

But once he actually took charge of the U-20 side, reality proved very different from the ideal. Things of an entirely different order from his Jeongun High days were unfolding inside the national team.

Internal politics. Invisible power struggles with the players. Endless headaches.

Yoo Jung-seok wore down quickly. At the same time a thought took root: if things continued like this, he would not last long. He needed a solution.

Then a single name rose in his mind—the man who had delivered the national championship he once thought impossible.

Jung Hyuk!

He was younger than the players already called up, yet still old enough for the U-20 squad. In Yoo Jung-seok’s judgment, Jung Hyuk’s pure ability did not lag behind any of the national-team players. If anything, he was better.

Fierce resistance both inside and outside the team was inevitable, yet no other option presented itself.

If it’s Jung Hyuk… maybe he can change this atmosphere.

He believed in the boy. So he forced the decision through. In the end Yoo Jung-seok called Jung Hyuk up to the U-20 national team—and, along with him, Oh Jung-hoon, the striker with whom Jung Hyuk shared the best chemistry.

The backlash was every bit as fierce as expected, but he held firm and brought both of them in.

And now, right before Yoo Jung-seok’s eyes, Jung Hyuk was toying with Bae Jong-soo.

“Heh heh…!”

Yoo Jung-seok laughed. Bae Jong-soo had been the player who gave him the worst headaches. Yet his ability was genuine, so the manager had been forced to use him. And now a sixteen-year-old was thoroughly humiliating that very player.

It did not stop there. Next Jung Hyuk unfurled dazzling individual skill right in front of two senior national-team players. It was not mere flash—both defenders were beaten clean in an instant. Jung Hyuk kept driving forward with the ball.

“……!”

Yoo Jung-seok shot to his feet. The spectacle unfolding was too extraordinary to watch sitting down.

Thud!

Even against defenders who slammed into him with full force, Jung Hyuk never flinched. He met their challenges even harder, then suddenly killed his power and changed direction, carving straight through the defensive line. He took a heavy kick to the leg in the process, yet he simply ignored it and pressed on. At last, with a breathtaking sequence of movement, he rounded the goalkeeper as well and rolled the ball into the empty net.

The weather was far from cold—if anything it was warm—yet Yoo Jung-seok found himself curling inward. A chill ran through him. The scene had been that spine-tingling.

He stared blankly at Jung Hyuk and murmured under his breath.

“Maybe… he could work another miracle.”

Throughout the entire practice match Jung Hyuk stripped the national-team players down to their very souls. Bae Jong-soo in particular was his primary target—relentlessly tormented, cruelly toyed with.

That did not mean he spent the whole match solely on Bae Jong-soo. Jung Hyuk was the sort of man who repaid every slight with interest. Whenever an opening appeared he made life miserable for Yeon Se-min, the player who had deliberately kicked his leg. A “physical challenge” that was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠really a kick to the shin was only the beginning; on every corner kick he committed fouls carefully hidden from the referee’s view. These were the dirty tricks of a seasoned veteran—almost never caught by the officials. He hounded Yeon Se-min without mercy, constantly feigning accidental contact until the older player was thoroughly sick of him.

Of course he did not merely harass them. With pure ability he overwhelmed the elite national-team players as well.

Deployed as a central midfielder, Jung Hyuk never once lost possession in the first half; every ball found a teammate. With his wide vision and superb ball-retention he always passed with composure, and his completion rate soared. Nearly every pass arrived exactly where it was meant to go.

He did not hold back, either. He freely displayed dazzling technique, constantly unsettling opponents. Whenever possible he attempted a dribble, and most of those dribbles succeeded. The national-team defenders simply could not stop him.

The second half was little different. With his improved stamina Jung Hyuk continued to cover the entire pitch just as he had in the first half, yet he moved with the efficiency of a true veteran.

In the end, Jung Hyuk demolished the U-20 national-team players who had lived their entire lives as elites.

Final score: 6–1.

Jung Hyuk scored five of the goals. He had shown a class that belonged on an entirely different level.

The moment the match ended, the atmosphere among the national team turned heavy. How could it not? Twenty-year-olds had been toyed with by a sixteen-year-old. The gulf in ability had been so vast they had been utterly unable to stop him. The players sat slumped on the grass, faces blank with shock.

Jung Hyuk looked at them and wore a bitter expression of his own.

This is seriously bad.

He had just produced the performance of a lifetime, yet he felt no joy. The reason was the true level of the U-20 national team he had just experienced firsthand.

This won’t be easy.

In Jung Hyuk’s memory the U-20 World Cup that would open later this year featured many strong nations and, naturally, many excellent players. He could not recall every detail of the other teams’ strength, but he was certain they would all be stronger than the current Korean side.

And there isn’t much time left until the tournament starts.

The U-20 World Cup was almost upon them. With so little time remaining, changing the tactical system was nearly impossible. They would have to squeeze every possible ounce of efficiency out of the current long-ball style.

A difficult situation. In that situation Jung Hyuk saw only one path.

I’ll just have to be brilliant myself.

Do what he did best. Produce outstanding performances that lift the team’s momentum, then ride that momentum to victory. That was the method he had settled on.

And the odds of that method working had just improved ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a little.

Because of the message that floated before his eyes.

The message had appeared the instant the match ended.

So I get a special card here.

Before his regression Jung Hyuk had obtained special cards before. Every time he opened one, the result had exceeded his expectations. Anticipation stirred inside him—the hope that something truly excellent would appear this time as well.

I hope something useful comes out.

Jung Hyuk reached toward the special card.

Time flowed swiftly. Before anyone realized it, the schedule for the U-20 World Cup proper was drawing near. The U-20 national team arrived in the host nation, Turkey, to contest the tournament matches.

On the first day after arrival, Manager Yoo Jung-seok gave the players rest so they could adjust to the local time and environment.

“I can’t digest a thing.”

Yoo Jung-seok frowned. Whether it was the long flight or simply eating a little too much, his stomach felt heavy and bloated.

“I need to move a bit.”

He headed for the hotel gym, intending to settle his stomach with some light exercise. Inside, foreigners were already working out. And among them he spotted a single Korean.

“……Jung Hyuk?”

The Korean in his line of sight was Jung Hyuk. The muttered name came out louder than he intended—loud enough for Jung Hyuk to hear.

“Manager?”

Jung Hyuk approached with a bright smile.

How much sweat is that…?

Yoo Jung-seok stared at him in astonishment. The clothes Jung Hyuk wore were completely soaked through.

“Exactly how long have you been here?”

At the question Jung Hyuk pulled out his phone and checked the time.

“About two hours.”

“What, you don’t even rest? Everyone else is taking it easy—why are you working out again?”

“My body was itching. I couldn’t just lie around.”

Jung Hyuk answered with an embarrassed little laugh. Yoo Jung-seok scolded him with a worried look.

“What if you push too hard and get injured? Rest when everyone else is resting.”

“Haha, I’m being careful not to get hurt. You don’t need to worry. And I’ve already rested plenty. If I rest too long it actually feels worse.”

“Is that so? Well… you’re a proper professional now, so I suppose you know what you’re doing.”

“Yes. I’ll train safely so I don’t cause any trouble ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for the team.”

“All right. Good work.”

“I’ll be heading off then.”

Yoo Jung-seok watched Jung Hyuk’s retreating back and smiled with quiet satisfaction.

What a strange kid.

The Jung Hyuk he had observed was a remarkable person. First of all, even at his young age he never felt young. The aura he gave off and the way he spoke made him seem like a man well past thirty. His football was the same—like watching a seasoned veteran. Whenever Yoo Jung-seok saw the composure Jung Hyuk displayed in midfield and the way he moved with perfect understanding of the tactics, a chill ran down his spine every single time.

Moreover, the Jung Hyuk he knew was a man who created change. This time was no different. Jung Hyuk had been with the national team only a short while, yet in that brief span he had dramatically transformed the squad’s atmosphere. He had also rewritten his own standing. Through sheer ability, an unflinching personality, and that unique presence of his, he had rapidly elevated his status inside the team. He had not merely raised himself—he had thoroughly crushed the standing of Bae Jong-soo’s clique. Thanks to Jung Hyuk’s efforts, Yoo Jung-seok’s own authority had risen as well. Watching the team’s atmosphere settle day by day, the manager could only laugh in helpless wonder.

That kid is better than me.

Yoo Jung-seok sincerely believed Jung Hyuk would make an excellent manager himself. His ability to command the players was that extraordinary. If the boy had been even a little older, the manager would have wanted to hand him the captain’s armband.

And Yoo Jung-seok had no idea.

He did not know that before the regression Jung Hyuk had captained an EPL club. He did not know that Jung Hyuk had also captained the senior South Korean national team. He did not know that Jung Hyuk had even studied for his coaching licenses.

Every nation that had qualified for the U-20 World Cup had already arrived in Turkey and finished acclimating to the environment. Now the competition among those formidable sides was about to begin.

The Korean national-team players, drawn in Group B, prepared for their matches as well. Kickoff was set for six in the evening. Their first opponent would be Cuba.

Facing Cuba—widely regarded as one of the weaker sides among the finalists—was a stroke of good fortune. Korean football fans, however, could not bring themselves to celebrate. They had no reason to. The remaining teams in Group B were all considered title contenders: Portugal and Nigeria, two sides that displayed the absolute highest level at U-20. Both possessed stronger squads than Korea and consistently produced better results. Naturally, Korea absolutely had to take care of Cuba. Only then could they cling to any hope.

And at last, the first match of Group B at the 2013 U-20 World Cup began.

South Korea versus Cuba.